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THE EFFECTS OF FIXED‐TIME REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES ON PROBLEM BEHAVIOR OF CHILDREN WITH EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS IN A DAY‐TREATMENT CLASSROOM SETTING
Author(s) -
Rasmussen Karina,
O'neill Robert E.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1901/jaba.2006.172-05
Subject(s) - reinforcement , psychology , multiple baseline design , developmental psychology , intervention (counseling) , context (archaeology) , behavior change , token economy , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , paleontology , biology
The current study assessed the effects of fixed‐time reinforcement schedules on problem behavior of students with emotional‐behavioral disorders in a clinical day‐treatment classroom setting. Three elementary‐aged students with a variety of emotional and behavioral problems participated in the study. Initial functional assessments indicated that social attention was the maintaining reinforcer for their verbally disruptive behavior. Baseline phases were alternated with phases in which attention was provided on fixed‐time schedules in the context of an ABAB design. The results indicated that the provision of attention on fixed‐time schedules substantially reduced the participants' rate of verbal disruptions. These decreases were maintained during initial thinning of the schedules. The results provide one of the first examples that such an intervention can be successfully implemented in a classroom setting.